Visualization Solutions

08/08/2017

You are ready to buy a new computer for your CAD workstations, and are confused or unsure what the best setups are for what you do. You've looked at the Autodesk website, and have looked at their minimum specifications, but don't see a recommended one. Here's a list of what I have put together for specs based on my own experience and usage:

Fastest Intel i7, Intel Xeon, or AMD processor you can afford (as close to 3.0 GHz as possible or higher) – Quad core or more if you have the budget (more cores is not necessarily faster, as most Autodesk Software is primarily single core/single thread) The faster the processor, the better the performance will be.

16 GB of RAM minimum, 8 GB would probably do for LT applications and Viewers, but as a minimum 16 GB, 32 GB or more if you are working with large models or animations

2 GB GDDR5 dedicated Workstation class Video Card as a bare minimum (NVidia Quadro or AMD FirePro), You can probably make out fine with 2GB for most applications, but more is better, and it must be Workstation class – gaming cards will not cut it for performance. When possible I recommend 4 GB or more, especially if you are rendering or handling large models or data sets.

If you can afford one, I highly recommend an SSD (Solid State Drive) as your primary drive (generally at 250 or 500 Gigabytes). This will speed up the applications and operating system significantly, and since the cost has been coming down and the reliability is going up, it's an excellent way to get the most out of your machine.

So, in short, know your budget and start with the processor first, and then the graphics card. For most machines you can add RAM later for less, so start with 16 GB, and if you still have the budget after those items, get the SSD.

08/01/2017

3ds Max 2015, 2016, 2017 or 2018 do not load or perform properly under Windows 10. The program either freezes upon launch, or locks up and/or crashes shortly after launch.

3ds Max 2017 and 2018 are the only versions of the software that Autodesk has officially certified to run properly under Windows 10. (Many users have run earlier versions of 3ds Max under Windows 10 successfully, although Autodesk hasn't officially certified this.) However, some 3ds Max users have reported various issues when running under Windows 10:

Examples:

3ds Max cannot load files via the File browser without crashing.

3ds Max may not launch properly when started (the program freezes or simply closes)

3ds Max exhibits serious program instability and closes without warning

Some users report that Windows updates have altered their file/folder permissions so 3ds Max won't launch/work properly. Other issues may be due to non-supported video cards and video card drivers under Windows 10; other driver conflicts may be occurring as well.

Solution:

There are a wide variety of possible fixes/workarounds for these issues. Here are the most common troubleshooting steps that Autodesk suggests:

Creators Update Issues:

Some 3ds Max customers are reporting their software doesn't open after installing the Windows Creators Update. When trying to uninstall the Autodesk products using the Autodesk Uninstall Tool the error appears, "The code execution cannot be proceed because MSVC110.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem." However the file does exist in the C:\Windows\System32 folder.

Right-click on the ViewCube in any viewport and pick Configure > Viewport Configuration > Viewcube tab, and uncheck Show the ViewCube. Then restart 3ds Max. (To prevent the ViewCube from loading even after changing 3ds Max templates, workspaces or resetting default user settings, go to the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2017\stdplugs folder, and rename the AutoCamMax.gup file to AutoCamMax.gup.BAK.)

06/26/2017

The best way to download the Autodesk software is to use the "Download Now" which gives you all the files you need. It is best downloaded in IE (Internet Explorer) or Google Chrome. I have three methods below to try and download your Autodesk software.

First you haveto adjust some of your machines securities in order to be successful.

Here is what you will do:

Go to your temp folder and delete everything you can C:\Users\your user profile folder\AppData\Local\Temp OR here is a soundless video on how to get to your temp folder and delete everything:

In the path highlight the text and type %temp% and hit your enter key.

Click inside the list of files/folders and hold the ctrl key + A to select all.

Click your delete key.

If you are prompted with a message that a file is in use click the Skip button. If there are more than one file you can click the check box to “do this for all current items”.

Turn off your Antivirus

Turn off your Firewall

Open Windows Firewall by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type firewall, and then click Windows Firewall. Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Click Turn off Windows Firewall (not recommended) under each network location that you want to stop trying to protect, and then click OK.

Set your user account control setting to never notify.

Open User Account Control Settings by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type UAC, and then click Change User Account Control settings. To turn off UAC, move the slider to the Never notify position, and then click OK.

Verify the Autodesk ports and websites used are not being blocked by review my blog regardingAutodesk Trusted Sites.

Verify you as the user of the machine has the correct permissions. Being a part of the admin group doesn't always get you past permissions issue with installs. Follow my blog regardingAutodesk permissions requirements.

10/26/2016

If you are trying to install from disk, thumb drive, download or deployment and the installation fails but doesn't give you any indication of what happened, you can refer to your installation log files located in your temp folder. To get to your temp folder do the following;

Go to the start menu and type %temp% in the search folders and files and hit your enter key or open a Windows Explorer and in the path type %temp% and hit the enter key.

Typically users will find the following string at the bottom of the .log file.

"Manufacturer: Autodesk. Installation success or error status: 1603."

Items you will want to verify before trying to run the installer again;

Log into the machine as a local admin. The 1603 error is associated with permissions issues.

Windows updates are current

Video card is up to date and current. You can find updated drivers on the Autodesk website or the video cards manufactures website.

Delete as many files as possible inside the temp folder.

Uninstall from the Control Panel the Microsoft C++ 2010 Redistributable as this is typically corrupt and is the cause for a failed installation. This will reinstall when you run the setup.exe. If you have windows 8.1 or Windows 10 you may need to remove all C++ and reinstall them. Here is our blog on Extreme C++ Uninstalling/Reinstalling

NOTE: One misleading statement that is everywhere regarding BIM 360 Team is that you can collaborate with other users on files. You will not be able to work on files simultaneously in your Autodesk software that is installed on your machine. You cannot work like you would a shared network location, Collaboration for Revit, Central model, or Revit Server.

Autodesk Collaboration for Revit give you the ability to work with members not only in your office but in several different offices in different locations. You can do the following with Collaboration for Revit:

Work on the latest workshared model/project.

Real-time communicator chat tool to communicate with other designers on the project.

Manage models and users via the cloud.

Collaboration allow you the ability to allow a user to view the files but not work on them.

Temporarily disable Antivirus. There is a known issue with the antivirus Kaspersky and Autodesk software in which you may need to uninstall this antivirus to properly install the Autodesk software. Review the Autodesk knowledge page here.

There are two solutions in the blog above. I have copied them in case the blog gets deleted.

First suggested solution:

"Closing error messages allows users to use AutoCAD 2017.

If you disconnect from the Internet, then start the program, and then reconnect to the Internet, error messages do not show up."

Can you please check to see if the above will stop the error messages, even if it is only temporarily?

I have also found references to similar errors that were browser related:

"This ended up being that IE's document mode was being defaulted to IE7 Standards. This was due to the compatibility mode being automatically set to be used for all intranet sites (Tools > Compatibility View Setting > Display Intranet Sites in Compatibility View)."

Please check this setting and change it to see if the errors continue.

"Older IE versions (IE7 and IE 8) show following error."

Please check your version of IE and let me know what version you are using.

Also, I have a couple of other questions:

1. What OS are you using?

2. What version of Java do you have installed on your system?

3. Since only two of the five systems with AutoCAD 2017 are having issues, can you think of any differences between the two systems and the 3 that are not experiencing the issue? Maybe things like whether or not the users have Admin privileges or not, if the software was installed differently on the 2, or perhaps they are on a different network or subnet should be considered.

Second suggestion Solution:

The issue was actually being caused by the language parameters of the shortcut which is automatically placed on the desktop upon install. (See picture)

****************************************************************************************************FIX: All that needed to be done was to start the application using the EXE. (C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2017\acadlt.exe)

09/30/2016

When running in Navisworks and you are moving or panning, etc. the model parts of the model copy itself showing up as a conglomerate of little boxes. Even the View Cube becomes unreadable as a bunch of small boxes.

This is a graphics card/driver problem.

You have a few options.

1) Keep trying newer and / or older drivers for your graphics card to see if it works. Yes, sometimes you have to use an older driver.

2) Obtain a new card and driver that is recommended by Autodesk. Unfortunately Autodesk doesn't have current information about graphics cards for Navisworks at www.autodesk.com/hardware, so we don't know which one would be best to have installed.